Waste Management Bulletin最新文献

{"title":"Cow dung valorization via dual-stream separation: An integrated LCA and techno-economic framework for agricultural and algal use","authors":"P. Archana ,&nbsp;Premjith B ,&nbsp;V.P. Mahadevan Pillai ,&nbsp;K.M. Sreedhar ,&nbsp;K.M. Sreekanth ,&nbsp;G. Sivasubramanian","doi":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100248","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100248","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cow dung, often left unmanaged, represents both a nutrient source and an emissions burden. Here we report a decentralized hydraulic process that separates fresh, wet cow dung into two usable streams: a fibrous solid and a nutrient-rich liquid. Pressing removed ∼ 80 % of moisture with fibre recovery of 87 %, yielding materials that supported both plant and algal growth. Fibre application increased the germination energy of Vigna radiata by 47.6 %, while the nutrient powder, obtained through freeze-drying, sustained algal cultures more effectively than synthetic f/2 medium. Life cycle analysis identified freeze-drying as the main environmental hotspot, contributing over half of the system’s climate footprint (∼0.84 kg CO₂-eq per 0.5 kg processed). Scenario modelling showed that solar or hybrid drying could reduce this impact by more than 90 %. A multitask neural network (R2 = 0.79) predicted product yields from raw input, supporting process optimization. Techno-economic evaluation indicated a net loss at bench scale, but break-even and positive returns when deployed in <em>gauśāla</em> settings, where local use and market-linked fibre and nutrient streams offset costs. This dual-stream approach demonstrates that cow dung can be reorganized into structured outputs without secondary effluents. By combining experimental validation, life cycle metrics, and economic modelling, the study provides a realistic pathway for circular bioresource management under decentralized rural conditions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101276,"journal":{"name":"Waste Management Bulletin","volume":"3 4","pages":"Article 100248"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145219462","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How can a plastic credit system improve traceability and verifiability in plastic waste management?","authors":"Andry Alamsyah,&nbsp;Said Fikri Naufal Ramdhani","doi":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100250","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100250","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plastic credit schemes are increasingly adopted to mitigate plastic pollution, yet existing systems remain centralized, opaque, and prone to double counting and fraud. This study proposes and validates a plastic credit system that leverages blockchain technology aimed at enhancing transparency, traceability, and accountability in plastic recovery efforts. A modular three-layer architecture was implemented, comprising a user interaction layer, a blockchain execution layer, and a utility layer for metadata and analytics integration. The system employs two smart contracts on the Polygon Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mainnet using Ethereum standards: ERC-20 for fungible tokenization of plastic credits and ERC-721 for non-fungible certificate issuance. Functional testing confirmed successful execution of token lifecycle operations. Stress testing across 5000 sequential transactions yielded stable performance, with average confirmation times of 5.29 s for fungible token operations and 5.59 s for non-fungible processes. A decentralized application (DApp) was developed to support role-based interaction, credit traceability, and certificate validation. User evaluation returned a high usability score (86.4%), while benchmarking against existing platforms demonstrated improved auditability, automation, and stakeholder control. These findings indicate that blockchain infrastructure can enable decentralized, tamper-resistant plastic credit systems. The proposed model provides a scalable foundation for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) compliance and plastic waste traceability, which could potentially support the credibility of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting and supporting circular economy transitions across diverse policy and economic contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101276,"journal":{"name":"Waste Management Bulletin","volume":"3 4","pages":"Article 100250"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157215","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparison of the adsorption performance of coconut husk and palm kernel shells biochars for the removal of toxic metals from mining wastewater","authors":"Abudu Ballu Duwiejuah ,&nbsp;Richmond Kow Ntsen Otoo ,&nbsp;Abubakari Zarouk Imoro","doi":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100249","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100249","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Toxic metal in mining wastewater is a significant concern for the environment and human health, prompting improved efforts to develop sustainable and efficient removal methods. This study characterised and compared the performance of coconut husk and palm kernel shells biochars in adsorbing toxic metals from mining wastewater. The biochars were produced through pyrolysis and characterised using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Batch sorption experiments of toxic metals with biochars were conducted to investigate the effects of adsorbent dose, residence times and varied temperatures. The adsorption efficiency for the coconut husk biochar for arsenic ranged from 92.50 % to 97.50 %, 10.79 % to 24.88 % for cadmium, 46.79 % to 57.71 % for chromium and 52.78 % to 59.55 % for nickel at 30 °C for 30 min. The adsorption efficiency for palm kernel shell biochar ranged from 90.00 % to 97.50 % for As, 15.49 % to 48.35 % for Cd, 56.34 % to 91.81 % for Cr, and 34.18 % to 60.15 % for Ni at a temperature of 30 °C for 30 min. The coconut husk and palm kernel shells biochars showed high adsorption effectiveness, which can be attributed to their lignocellulose content, surface area, organic functional groups, and mineral content. Adsorption followed the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order adsorption kinetics for the toxic metals, indicating monolayer chemisorption as the main mechanism. The coconut husk and palm kernel shell biochars are effective adsorbents for treating mining wastewater, with coconut husk biochar showing superior performance due to its higher surface reactivity. There is a need to create guidelines for selecting suitable materials for particular contaminants.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101276,"journal":{"name":"Waste Management Bulletin","volume":"3 4","pages":"Article 100249"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Innovative approaches to enhancing sustainability in the engineered wood processing industry in Malaysia","authors":"Nur Kamaliah Mustaffa ,&nbsp;Zakiah Ahmad ,&nbsp;Zadariana Jamil ,&nbsp;Emmanuel Appiah-Kubi ,&nbsp;Nurul Atiqah Mukhtar","doi":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100247","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100247","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The growing demand for engineered wood products (EWP) in Malaysia has intensified wood processing activities, raising sustainability and environmental concerns. This study aims to identify innovative strategies to strengthen sustainability practices in the Malaysian EWP industry. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining a survey of 67 stakeholders, semi-structured interviews with 11 experts and site assessments of five manufacturing companies to capture current practices, barriers and enabling factors. The survey indicates moderate adoption of sustainability practices. A majority of firms practiced waste minimization and use of recyclable wood (65%), adopted energy conservation policies (55%), utilised wood waste for fuel or feedstock (55%) and applied emission control systems (55%). In contrast, adoption of advanced measures was lower, with 35% incorporating solar energy and 15% applying lifecycle assessment (LCA). The analysis revealed four key innovation pathways: (i) resource management and waste reduction, (ii) energy efficiency and emissions reduction, (iii) technological innovation and adoption and (iv) circular economy and sustainable sourcing. Implementation challenges were grouped into four categories: financial, technical, operational and institutional, highlighting limited investment, weak policy support and shortages of skilled professionals. The study emphasizes that strengthening institutional capacity, establishing credible policy anchors, enhancing technical expertise, capacity-building through training and research and stakeholder collaboration are critical to accelerating sustainability adoption. The study highlights key gaps in the adoption of sustainability and innovation in the EWP industry. The findings establish an evidence base to strengthen policies, industry practices and stakeholder collaboration, supporting actionable strategies toward a more sustainable and competitive EWP sector.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101276,"journal":{"name":"Waste Management Bulletin","volume":"3 4","pages":"Article 100247"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145095079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A Deep Learning Pipeline for Solid Waste Detection in Remote Sensing Images","authors":"Federico Gibellini,&nbsp;Piero Fraternali,&nbsp;Giacomo Boracchi,&nbsp;Luca Morandini,&nbsp;Thomas Martinoli,&nbsp;Andrea Diecidue,&nbsp;Simona Malegori","doi":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100246","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100246","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Improper solid waste management represents both a serious threat to ecosystem health and a significant source of revenues for criminal organizations perpetrating environmental crimes. This issue can be mitigated thanks to the increasing availability of Very-High-Resolution Remote Sensing (VHR RS) images. Modern image-analysis tools support automated photo-interpretation and large territory scanning in search of illegal waste disposal sites. This paper illustrates a semi-automatic waste detection pipeline, developed in collaboration with a regional environmental protection agency, for detecting candidate illegal dumping sites in VHR RS images. To optimize the effectiveness of the waste detector at the core of the pipeline, extensive experiments evaluate such design choices as the network architecture, the ground resolution and geographic span of the input images, as well as the pretraining procedures. The best model attains remarkable performance, achieving 92.02 % F1-Score and 94.56 % Accuracy. A generalization study assesses the performance variation when the detector processes images from various territories substantially different from the one used during training, incurring only a moderate performance loss, namely an average 5.1 % decrease in the F1-Score. Finally, an exercise in which expert photo-interpreters compare the effort required to scan large territories with and without support from the waste detector assesses the practical benefit of introducing a computer-aided image analysis tool in a professional environmental protection agency. Results show that a reduction of up to 30 % of the time spent for waste site detection can be attained.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101276,"journal":{"name":"Waste Management Bulletin","volume":"3 4","pages":"Article 100246"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145048191","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The impact of effluents from Woliso Soap and Detergent Factory on Werabo River, South West Shewa district, Oromia, Ethiopia","authors":"Abiy Gezahegn ,&nbsp;Lemessa B. Merga ,&nbsp;Siraj Mammo","doi":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100244","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100244","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The discharge of industrial effluents into water bodies poses significant risks to aquatic ecosystems and human health. This study examines how the Werabo River in Woliso town, Oromia, Ethiopia, is affected by wastewater from the Woliso soap and detergent factory. In this study the level of pollution caused by the factory’s effluent and its effects on the ecological and socio-economic aspects of the local area were evaluated. To achieve this aims, water samples were collected at several points along the Werabo River, including the point where the manufacturing effluent joins the river. The samples were analyzed for various physicochemical parameters, and the water quality index (WQI) was calculated to assess the overall water quality. Additionally, socio-economic surveys and interviews were conducted to gather the local community’s perspectives on the pollution and its consequences. The findings showed that the levels of nitrate, phosphate, sodium, potassium, oil-grease, electrical conductivity (EC), salinity, dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature, pH, and total dissolved solids (TDS) were significantly higher at site II (the effluent discharge point) compared to upstream water samples. Statistically significant differences (p &lt; 0.05) were observed between the three sampling sites based on the measured parameters. The WQI results showed that the water samples collected during the rainy season (WQI = 179.5) and the spring (WQI = 231) were classified as poor and very poor water quality status, respectively. The socio-economic survey also highlighted the severe health, social, and economic impacts of the wastewater discharge on the local community, particularly to the users of the studied river. The environmental and socioeconomic effects of the wastewater discharge into the Werabo River from the Woliso soap and detergent industry are significantly highlighted by this study. The findings underscore the need for improved industrial waste management and offer important information for policymakers and stakeholders to develop effective pollution control measures and strategies for sustainable water resource management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101276,"journal":{"name":"Waste Management Bulletin","volume":"3 4","pages":"Article 100244"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145010182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cultural determinants of sustainable WM practices: A review of taboos, norms, and beliefs in Ghana’s rural communities","authors":"Bosompem Ahunoabobirim Agya","doi":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100242","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100242","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study presents a scoping review of peer-reviewed empirical and theoretical literature on the cultural determinants shaping sustainable solid waste management practices in rural Ghana. Drawing on interdisciplinary sources, the review synthesises evidence on how indigenous taboos, communal norms, and belief systems function as informal environmental governance mechanisms. Findings indicate that ritual prohibitions—such as bans on dumping in sacred groves or conducting waste activities on ancestral days—and gendered labour norms contribute to ecologically sustainable behaviours, often enforced through traditional authority structures. However, the efficacy of these systems is increasingly compromised by socio-cultural transformations, including urbanisation, religious pluralism, and declining customary leadership. The review also identifies significant gaps in the literature, notably spatial concentration in southern regions, limited gender-disaggregated analysis, and poor integration of indigenous ecological knowledge into formal waste policy frameworks. In addition, the evidence base is dominated by qualitative studies, which limits generalizability and underscores the need for mixed-methods and longitudinal research to capture the dynamic evolution of cultural practices. The study concludes that a hybrid governance model, incorporating indigenous principles within formal regulatory systems, offers a culturally contextualised pathway toward sustainable rural waste management. It recommends institutional recognition of traditional knowledge systems and participatory policy co-design as key to advancing integrated environmental governance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101276,"journal":{"name":"Waste Management Bulletin","volume":"3 4","pages":"Article 100242"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144988668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The urgency of a Circular healthcare economy amidst geopolitical turbulence; strategies in the fight against raw materials and energy scarcity","authors":"B. van Straten","doi":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100243","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100243","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":101276,"journal":{"name":"Waste Management Bulletin","volume":"3 3","pages":"Article 100243"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144916405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysis and human health evaluation of trace metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Ocimum basilicum and Vernonia amygdalina cultivated close to industrial markets in Owerri, Imo State","authors":"Prince O. Ukaogo ,&nbsp;Okenwa U. Igwe ,&nbsp;Ogechi C. Nwankwo ,&nbsp;Chisom Friday ,&nbsp;Eluu H. Oko ,&nbsp;Oluebube F. Ezenwafor","doi":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100241","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100241","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study evaluated the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and trace metals in <em>Vernonia amygdalina</em> and <em>Ocimum basilicum</em> leaves grown near Ekeonunwa, Relief, and Toronto industrial markets in Owerri. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrophotometry (ICP-OES) were employed for analysis, with Cold Vapour Atomic Fluorescence Spectrophotometry (CV-AFS) specifically for mercury detection. PAH Concentrations (mg kg⁻¹ PAHs): <em>V. amygdalina</em>: Ekeonunwa (5.56), Relief (8.99), Toronto (0.13) <em>O. basilicum</em>: Ekeonunwa (7.18), Relief (3.37), Toronto (0.17), while The average levels of metals in the soil samples ranked in descending order as follows: Fe &gt; Mn &gt; Zn &gt; Cu &gt; Al &gt; Cd &gt; Pb &gt; Cr &gt; Co &gt; V &gt; Li &gt; Hg, while those in the vegetable samples followed the sequence: Fe &gt; Mn &gt; Zn &gt; Cu &gt; Al &gt; Pb &gt; Cd &gt; Cr &gt; V &gt; Co &gt; Li &gt; Hg. Average metal concentrations were higher than FAO/WHO maximum permissible limits. Estimated Daily Intake (EDI) values for all metals were lower than their respective Reference Doses (RfD), Health Risk Index (HRI), Target Hazard Quotient (THQ), and Hazard Index (HI) values for both vegetables were significantly below 1, suggesting minimal risk from metal exposure. However, Target Cancer Risk (TCR) and Cumulative Target Cancer Risk (CTCR) assessments indicated a potential elevated cancer risk for individuals consuming these vegetables from areas where risk thresholds were surpassed. Preventative measures are recommended in these specific locations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101276,"journal":{"name":"Waste Management Bulletin","volume":"3 4","pages":"Article 100241"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145004025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Industrial effluents caused environmental pollution and its potential ecological and human health impacts in Ethiopia: A review","authors":"Abiy Gezahegn ,&nbsp;Lemessa B. Merga ,&nbsp;Siraj Mammo","doi":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100240","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.wmb.2025.100240","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As a result of discharge of untreated or inadequately treated industrial effluents into receiving environments, in Ethiopia, environmental pollution with persistent inorganic and organic residues are potential threat to human health and the environment. This review explores the potential impacts of industrial effluents to the environment and human health in Ethiopia. Various search engines were employed to collect relevant reports on physicochemical parameters and concentration levels of heavy metals reported in industrial effluents sampled from different industries located in Addis Ababa, and several regional states (Oromia, Amhara, and Sidama), Ethiopia. The results of this review study showed that large concentration levels of Electrical Conductivity, Total Dissolved Solids, Biological Oxygen Demand, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Total Suspended Solids, Total Nitrogen, and Total Phosphorus were found in all effluent samples of the studied industries which exceeds the permissible discharge limits established by the country, Ethiopia. In addition to the excessive release of these effluents into nearby receiving streams and rivers, the lack of adequate wastewater treatment facility was also observed. The review indicates that most water bodies receiving industrial effluents (e.g., rivers) in in the study areas are heavily contaminated with various physical and chemical pollutants, causing environmental and health problems for the communities relying on these water bodies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101276,"journal":{"name":"Waste Management Bulletin","volume":"3 4","pages":"Article 100240"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144932213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}